Modern Languages and English BA, 4 years
Course information
Typical offer ABB
UCAS code R9Q3
Institute code L34
Taught by Modern Languages
17th in the UK for Languages and Linguistics (The Guardian University Guide 2023)
96% of students in work or further study six months after graduating (The Uni Guide 2021)
Course description
Course description
Leicester is one of the top ten places in the UK to study Modern Languages (The Guardian University Guide 2021), with 96% employability after graduating, and we tend to rank high for student satisfaction in the annual National Student Survey.
You can study your chosen foreign language at Beginners or Advanced level. If you have already taken an A-level in either French/Italian/Spanish you would start at Advanced Level. If you have an A-level in another foreign language then you can begin studying your chosen modern language at Beginners Level.
Throughout the course you will develop your writing skills in the target language through the production of short pieces of creative writing and other activities such as online language learning and the use of materials taken from television and radio, with oral teaching conducted in small groups, mostly by native speakers.
Developing your foreign language skills gives you a powerful advantage in business and opens up a wide and exciting range of careers. You will be able to immerse yourself in a rich culture of learning-led experience in a supportive and tailored learning environment, and you will be supported by our team of personal tutors to help you make the best of your time here.
As part of the course, you will study abroad for a year, where you can live as a student or work as a teaching assistant with tutors on hand to help throughout the year. We have links with several universities in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Latin America. Alternatively, you can take up an approved work placement, in a French/Italian/Spanish speaking country.
In addition, at the end of your first year, you will attend one of our fully funded special summer schools so that you can immerse yourself in the language and culture that you are studying.
Here at the University of Leicester, we offer a rich and diverse learning experience, with great facilities, knowledgeable staff who are experts in their fields, and a unique chance to study abroad and build your international communication skills. You will be able to immerse yourself in a rich culture of research-led experience in a supportive and tailored learning environment.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
- A/AS-levels: ABB including English (Language, Literature or combined) and either French or Spanish or Italian. Two AS-Levels may be considered in place of one A-Level. General Studies is accepted
- EPQ with A-levels: BBB including English (Language, Literature or combined) and either French or Spanish or Italian + EPQ at grade B
- Access to HE Diploma: Pass Diploma with a minimum 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Distinction. To include 12 credits at Distinction in English Level 3 Modules. Plus, grade B at A-Level (or equivalent) in French or Spanish or Italian
- International Baccalaureate: Pass Diploma with 30 points including grade 6 at HL in English A or B and in either French or Spanish or Italian.
- BTEC Nationals: Pass Diploma with D*DD. Plus, grade B at A-Level English (Language, Literature or combined) and A-Level (or equivalent) in either French or Spanish or Italian
You can study either French, Spanish or Italian at Beginner Level if you have an A-Level (or equivalent) in any foreign language.
Other official national and international qualifications considered from across the world. You can review some of the qualifications we accept on our countries page and English Language equivalencies.
If your qualification or country is not listed, please contact us for more information, including the name and result of the qualification you have studied.
Contextual offers
The University of Leicester is committed to providing equitable opportunities for all applicants from all backgrounds. We make contextual offers to support students who may be impacted by the area they live in, their personal circumstances or who have completed one of our progression programmes. These offers are usually one or two grades lower than the standard entry requirements. To qualify for a contextual offer, you must apply for an eligible course and meet specific criteria – check if you’re eligible.
English Language Requirements
IELTS 6.5 or equivalent. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. If you do not yet meet our requirements, our English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) offers a range of courses to help you to improve your English to the necessary standard.
International Qualifications
Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.
Fees and funding
Fees and funding
UK Students
Starting in 2024
Tuition fees for 2024/25 are yet to be confirmed. As an indication of what you might pay, the fees for students who started in 2023/24 were:
- £9,250 in your first year. Tuition fees are subject to government regulations and may change in future years
- Year Abroad: your fee will be £1,250 for that year
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
International Students
Starting in 2024
Tuition fees for 2024/25 are yet to be confirmed. As an indication of what you might pay, the fees for students who started in 2023/24 were:
- £18,200 per year
- Year Abroad: £4,550 which is 25% of the full-time tuition fee
If you are resident outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland, you will need to pay a deposit of £3,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.
From 2022 onwards, EU nationals will pay the International fee. If you are an EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme, you may qualify for the UK fee (subject to criteria).
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
Careers and employability
Careers and employability
We organise annual employability workshops to help you realise your career ambitions and consider what progress you should be making towards employment at each stage of your degree.
Our annual Careers Week includes seminars exploring diverse career paths. Speakers have come from European embassies and the EU.
In most cases your Year Abroad can include a year-long teaching assistantship or you could spend one or two semesters on a work placement approved by the University.
Our annual Careers Week includes seminars exploring diverse career paths. Speakers have come from European embassies and the EU.
Graduate destinations
Graduates from our Modern Languages degrees have gone on to work for a wide range of employers including:
- Amazon
- Emirates
- Airlines Ford Credit
- Europe Ministerio de Educación
- Cultura y Deporte (Spain)
- Resilient PLC
- STA International
- Sweet Cherry Publishing
Get career-ready at Leicester with guidance from our award-winning Career Development Service. We're here to give you a lifetime offer of support, even after graduation. Our team of specialist careers advisers and mentors will help you every step of the way. From supporting you with CVs and interviews, to volunteering opportunities and placements, we're here to help you reach your professional goals.
Related courses
Course structure
Year 1
Year 1
French and English core modules:
Spanish and English core modules:
Italian and English core modules:
Plus two English core modules:
As well as one option from:
- Introduction to French Studies
- Introduction to Italian Studies
- Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Studies
Choose one option from the Modern Languages Cultural Studies options:
- 20th Century French Literature
- Introduction to Francophonie
- Italy Since 1945
- Latin American Literature and Film
- Introduction to Spanish Literature and Film
- Language and Society
Plus one English option:
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year 2
Year 2
You will choose one option from:
And one option from:
- French Language (Post-Beginners)
- Italian Language (Post-Beginners)
- Spanish Language (Post-Beginners)
Plus two options from the Cultural Studies modules:
- Introduction to French Linguistics
- Challenging Perspectives: Conflict and Relations in French Culture
- Media and Cultural Practices in France
- French Urban Space: From City of Lights to the Banlieue
- Italian Linguistics
- History of Italian Cinema
- Italian Society and Culture under Fascism
- Contemporary Mexican Cinema
- Drugs and Displacement in Contemporary Colombian Culture
- Latinx Literature and Culture in the United States
Plus English options:
- Eighteenth-Century Literature from Restoration to Revolution or Romantic Literature from Blake to Shelley and
- Modern Literature from Heart of Darkness to Nineteen Eighty-Four or Rewriting Britain from Windrush to Now
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year 3
Year 3
Your Year Abroad
As part of the course, you will study abroad for a year, where you can live as a student or work as a teaching assistant with tutors on hand to help throughout the year. We have links with several universities in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Latin America. Alternatively, you can take up an approved work placement, in a French/Italian/Spanish speaking country.
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year 4
Year 4
You will choose one option from:
Two modules from the Modern Language Cultural Studies options:
- Immigration and Ethnicity in Colonial and Post-Colonial France
- Norms and Margins in French Cinema
- Gender and Power in Contemporary France
- Contemporary Italian Fiction
- Postwar Italian Directors
- Visions of Modernity
- Boom Literature: Language and Creation
- Cinematic Representations of Latin America
- The Cinema of Luis Buñuel
- Putumayo: the History and Culture of a Latin American Conflict Zone
- Spain and its Others
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 1
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 2
- Extended Essay
Plus one English module:
- Renaissance Literature from Utopia to Paradise Lost OR Victorians: from Oliver Twist to The Picture of Dorian Gray
Plus your Dissertation or two modules from English Special Subject Modules list from the list below:
- Queering the Renaissance
- Literatures of Protest: Reading and Political Action
- The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
- Weird Fiction/ Weird Film
- Autobiography and American Literature
- Late Victorian Gothic: Texts and Contexts
- The Other in American Fiction and Film
- The Thatcher Factor: The 1980s in Literature
- Jane Austen: The Novels, their Contexts and their Adaptations
- Tragedy
- Writing for Laughs
- Sex and Sensibility: Women, Writing, Revolution
- Life and Fate: Russian Literature from Pushkin to Grossman
- Medieval Worlds
- Reading and Writing Climate Change Fiction
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Why Leicester
Job prospects are excellent: 96% of our language students are employed (or studying for a Masters degree) six months after graduating. (DLHE)
We were ranked 9th in the UK for modern language teaching in the Guardian University Guide 2021.
The summer school in your chosen country between Years 1 and 2 is part of your course so there's no extra cost. This experience will immerse yourself in a different culture and language, building your confidence in your language skills.
You will definitely want to join the Students' Union's Modern Languages Society which organises academic and social events including film screenings, nights out, guest speakers, language-themed nights, sports events and even a weekend in Paris.
Teaching and learning
Summer School
When you take one of our Modern Languages courses, you'll attend one of our fully-funded summer schools during the summer vacation at the end of your first year, which is an integral part of your degree.
Whether you study in Montpellier (France), Massa Marittima (Italy), or Santiago de Compostela (Spain), you will live with selected local families and hosts and enjoy language tuition in small groups each morning. In the afternoons, and some evenings and weekends, you'll take part in cultural and social activities for a complete immersion in the heart of the society, country and region you are visiting.
The benefits you'll gain are invaluable - you'll build your confidence in your chosen spoken and written language, gain crucial transferable skills (on completion of the summer school you will receive a HEAR certificate), discover new cultures, and build life-long friendships.
Teaching
Language skills are taught in small groups, predominantly by native speakers. Our courses stress the importance of communicative ability as well as linguistic accuracy, and oral skills are highly valued.
Cultural studies modules are taught through a mix of lectures and seminars, which encourage discussion and debate around prepared topics and texts.
The use of online tutorials and exercises on Blackboard, the University’s virtual learning environment, allows us to include interactive training in our courses and to facilitate learning in specific areas such as essay writing and grammatical terminology.
You will be assessed throughout each year by a combination of continuous assessment, seminar presentations, essays, and formal exams at the end of each semester. While final year work is most heavily weighted in determining the degree class, your achievements during your second year and your year abroad are also taken into account.
You will have regular meetings with your personal tutor to discuss progress in your studies. Your personal tutor will also provide a sympathetic ear for all matters of personal concern, whether academic, financial, housing, career, or social.
Independent learning
When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. To help with your independent learning, you can access the Library and our social study spaces in halls of residence.
Your contact hours will depend on the option modules you select. You can see details of the contact hours on individual module pages.
Apply now
| Course | Qualification | Duration | Attendance | UCAS Code | Start Dates | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course Modern Languages and English | Qualification BA | Duration 4 years | Attendance Full-time | UCAS Code R9Q3 | Start Dates September 2023 | Availability How to apply |
